Today it is my pleasure to have been offered the opportunity by Aria Fiction, to share in the Blog Tour for this new historical romance and as the author was born in my own home town of Swindon, Wiltshire, of course I jumped at the chance.

Love, marriage, obsession, betrayal and treachery in 1920’s London – a powerful and gritty saga perfect for fans of Kitty Neale, Josephine Cox and Rosie Goodwin.

The hedonism of London in the roaring ’20’s is a world away from Annabel Tarleton’s ordinary country existence. Until a chance meeting with the charming Richard Fortescue at a society ball changes her life for ever.

Swept off her feet by the dashing Richard, and his renowned fortune, Annabel soon realises all that all that glitters isn’t gold. Her bid for freedom has come at a terrible price and she finds herself trapped inside a marriage that behind closed doors is cruel and brutal.

Annabel has no choice but to flee, and will do everything to save herself, and her unborn baby, from destitution. But the very rich and very powerful expect to get what they want – and Richard wants only one thing – Annabel…

…

Clicking on the book title will link you directly with the relevant Goodreads page

Rosie Clarke was born in Swindon, but moved to Ely in Cambridgeshire at the age of nine.

She started writing in 1976, combining this with helping her husband run his antiques shop.

In 2004, Rosie was the well-deserved winner of the RNA Romance Award and the Betty Neels Trophy.

She still lives in Cambridgeshire, is happily married and enjoys life with her husband. She likes to walk in the Spanish sunshine and eating out at favourite restaurants in Marbella is a favourite pastime, but writing is her passion.

Rosie loves shoes, especially those impossibly high heels you can buy and has a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choos, but can’t wear them, so they sit on the mantlepiece.

Rosie Clarke has written under various names including Anne Herries, Linda Sole and Cathy Sharp, and for a variety of publishers.

Chosen by Aria Fiction and Rosie Clarke, this short extract, also taken from the opening chapter of the book, is my shared feature for the Blog Tour.

Annabel’s heart missed a beat as she caught sight of him across the room, her stomach clenching with nerves. She had been so sure he wouldn’t be here this evening. He seldom attended little dances like this, because he was more often in London or at Newmarket for the racing. They had met on only one other occasion and she’d felt an instant attraction, though she wasn’t certain he was interested. He’d smiled, asked her to dance, talked about his passion for racehorses, briefly mentioned the business passed on to him by his late father, and then left her to rejoin his friends.

Tall and lean, with dark hair, and an attractive face, Richard Hansen was very wealthy. Everyone knew that he was the heir to a vast manufacturing empire. His grandfather had started with some mills in the North Country but his father had expanded the business and become both wealthy and influential. Richard had been sent to the best schools and then to Oxford, where he had somehow managed to survive without being sent down despite his reputation for being wild. Perhaps because of his charm, which seemed to embrace everyone he met and sent more than one young woman’s heart on a dizzy whirl. It was a little way he had of making you feel that you were special that drew women to him, as moths to the naked flame.

Even as Annabel watched, she saw him charming an older woman who was known for her sour disposition but who now simpered and blushed as he twisted her around his little finger. Annabel watched the woman laughing like a young girl and then flushed herself as his eyes told her he’d become aware of her gaze.

‘You’re wasting your time,’ a mischievous voice said at her ear and Annabel turned to smile at her friend Georgina Barrington. Georgie was dark haired, pretty and full of fun, a year or so younger than Annabel. Wearing a short dress with fringes that sparkled as she moved, she was a true reflection of the age. Much more than a flapper, she was intelligent and full of the joy of life. ‘Ma told me to give him a wide berth, Belle. Mr Hansen is a charmer but spoiled – and some say he’s bad, though they won’t say why.’

‘What do you mean –bad?’ Annabel asked, unwilling to accept that Richard could be less than the perfect young god he appeared and yet knowing that her friend was far from malicious. ‘He seemed pleasant enough to me when we met.’

Georgie had been her best friend since they’d met two years earlier, when the Barringtons were staying with friends in Cambridge. The family visited every few months and Georgina had written to say she would be at the Munsters’ dance that evening.

‘It’s just whispers,’ Georgie said. ‘I think he probably gets drunk and does reckless things – but Ma never tells me the whole story. You know what mothers are like.’

‘Yes, I do,’ agreed Annabel with a rueful look. ‘Your mother is better than most though, Georgie. She gives you a lot of freedom. This is 1929 but I sometimes think my mother is still living in Victorian times. She hardly lets me out without a chaperone.’

‘Lady Tarleton is a little anxious for you sometimes,’ Georgie said diplomatically and glanced across the room to her own mother. ‘She wants you to make a good marriage. Priscilla says she doesn’t care who I marry as long as I am happy. That’s partly because of Jessie, I believe. She’s wonderful, Belle.’

Related Entries

From your posts and snippets you’ve shared, The Runaway Wife sounds very good and it is a genre I like. For some reason what Georgie is telling her about Richard Hansen reminds me of the scene in Gone With the Wind when Scarlett first sees Rhett at Twelve Oaks and her friend tells her that he has a bad reputation lol. That just makes the man more intriguing 🙂 Enjoy this one and have a nice weekend!

This book has received some excellent ratings and reviews and is definitely one I shall be reading at some point.

The story seems to have much more substance about it than so many other books from the genre, albeit that a strong stomach may be required, as apparently there are some descriptions of domestic abuse near the start of the book.

I have to admit that I have never read ‘Gone With The Wind’, nor seen the film – Another of those classics which seems to have passed me by!

This one definitely has a much stronger story line than your average historical romance or bodice ripper.

Although Annabel is being coerced into making a good marriage, with a ‘well respected’ family, she is only willing to accept so much abuse from her husband, before finding her metal and courage, and making the decision to put herself and her unborn child first by fleeing.

I would like to see Annabel’s family getting behind her and supporting her decision – but why do I get the feeling this just isn’t going to happen?

There are so many social mores and womens rights issues which have the potential to come to the fore, that this has to be a definite read for me!

I appreciate that we don’t all enjoy the same genre of reading, nor style of writing, so thank you so much for taking the time to consider a comment, and have a good week 🙂

First Lines

The Magistrate … There was a knock on the door of the last house on Craigmillar Castle Road. The tat came before the rat, though the a-tat remained in pretty much the same place, producing a distorted, yet familiar sound, but then Alfonso Pfukuto, the knocker, was an ambiguous man. Nothing was quite what it […]